


The Babysitter

by Wolfsnape



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Humor, Post-Season/Series 03, dad!Alec, i just love the relationship between Alec and Fred, slight Alec/Ellie i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-14 15:11:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14138658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfsnape/pseuds/Wolfsnape
Summary: Alec didn't remember exactly why he said 'yes' in the first place, but here he was, babysitting the young Fred Miller for an entire Saturday. It was just a child. He could perfectly handle it, right ?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just need a lot of fluffy and awkward Alec with Fred, ok ? I just need happy Alec, actually  
> I'm French, so feel free to correct me if there is any mistake ! Enjoy !

Alec didn't remember exactly why he said 'yes' in the first place. Maybe it was the way Miller busted into his office on Thursday morning with her usual smile but her not so usual worried eyes, or the way she stood there, longer than she would normally do, searching for her words. Miller never searched for her words. She would just yell at him and regret it later. Alec frowned. Did she come to announce bad news? Please, not another murder, Broadchurch was supposed to be a calm town and he probably wouldn't be able to handle one more murder. Yet she was smiling so it couldn't be that bad, could it? But it was that weird smile that didn't reach her eyes and Alec could see the concern floating in her eyes.

“What do you want, Miller?”

“Hello to you too.” She answered with an exasperated smirk.

“Yeah. So?”

“Well,” she said, taking her time to choose her next words. He didn't like when she did that. She was either going to say something terrible or trick him into doing something for her.

“Remember Tom has a football game on Saturday? Lunch with the team and all?” He nodded. The boy talked about it all week and so did Miller, supportive as she was.

“Well, I have this medical appointment I can't miss, really, called six months ago and it was already overbooked. A real nightmare, I tell you.”

Alec remembered her screaming obscenities on the phone and tried his best not to smile. It took him a moment to realize where she was going with this and he sighed. Trick it was.

“Miller, I'm not going to this football game for you, I know you were excited to go, but I think Tom is old enough not to need a supporter, especially not me, and the last time I went to a game was in Scotland and I _really_ don't want to do it again so-”

“Oh, no!” she interrupted. “That's not what I meant! I know he doesn't want me to be there, you know, fifteen and such, having your mom cheering for you can be very annoying. No. It's just my dad left with my sister a few weeks ago so I don't have anyone to look after Freddie on Saturday.”

Alec stayed silent, confused. Miller started fidgeting with her hands, nervous.

“Can't Beth keep an eye on him?” he asked.

“No, I asked her but it's her day off and she wanted to go visit Mark with Chloe and Lizzie, and before you ask, I can't drop him at Lucy's, it's way too far away. She lives in Liverpool now, can you believe it? Liverpool?”

“So what are you going to do? Take him with you?”

“Well I thought that, maybe... Maybe you could look after him for the day?”

He opened his eyes wide. Oh no. She wanted _him_ to babysit the kid? Why not Daisy? Daisy would do a wonderful job. Ah, right, Daisy wasn't there this week-end. But how could _he_ take care of a _child_ ? It was probably the worst idea she ever had. The last kid he looked after was Daiz and she was _his_ kid, so it was very different. Oh god, here she was with the sad puppy eyes. He knew he was doomed.

“Hm, well.” he managed after an awkward silence. “I-”

“You know what? You're right. It was a terrible idea. You'll probably be busy in here all day anyway, getting drown in work and not taking care of yourself as usual. Like, there is this really important case right? What could be more important on a Saturday than a woman who got her 150 quids worth garden gnome stolen? Who keeps a gnome that expensive in their garden by the way?”

Alec took a deep breath.

“Sure,” he muttered.

“And you probably have plans with Daisy this weekend. She's staying right? Shopping? Do you even do shopping? You have like one suit and two jumpers, Hardy, this is so- wait, _what_?”

“I said sure. I'll babysit your child, if you can't find anyone else.”

“His name is Fred,” she corrected.

“Right.”

They looked at each other for a very long time. Ellie scowled.

“This is... nice. It doesn't look like you. You don't do _nice_.”

“Oi! You asked! And you can find someone else if you want.”

“No! It's fine, thanks, really. You're my savior here.”

“As always, Miller.”

“Shut it, you knob.”

She gave him a bright smile and he sighed one more time, rubbing his beard. Joyful Miller was back.

“Ten at my house will be fine?”

“Yeah. Will do.”

She smiled once more and breathed out, relieved. Alec was about to tell her to get out and get back to work when he noticed the look she was giving him.

“What, again?”

“So...” she laughed. “What happened in Scotland?”

“Oh, shut up, Miller.”

 

*****

 

So here he was, standing under the Millers' porch, wondering again why he accepted to babysit this kid for almost an entire day, instead of staying home, with his daughter out and about, and just having some well-deserved rest. Said daughter told him it was “what friends do” and Alec silently agreed. Miller was exhausted and the appointment was important. She didn't need more stress worrying about her kids' well-being. To be completely honest, he was quite positively surprised she thought about asking him and not putting the wee one to child care. After everything that happened with Joe, it was nice to see that she trusted a man enough to put her youngest kid to his care. He was glad she trusted _him_ enough, somehow. Now, the whole point was trying not to mess up. It was just one day, everything would be fine. Alec pressed the doorbell. He heard quick footsteps coming his way and keys shifting in the lock. The door flew open in front of him and Ellie appeared, smiling. She looked at him from head to toe and raised her eyebrows, visibly surprised.

“You're here,” she observed.

“Yeah...”

“I mean, you are _actually_ here.”

“Well,” he said, started to feel the exasperation growing. “You asked me to be here at ten on Saturday, it's ten and it's Saturday.”

“I know what I said,” she replied sharply. “It's just...” she paused. “I thought you would find some lame last minute excuse not to come.”

Alec didn't know what to answer to that. Did she really thought so little of him? He knew how stressed she was lately and she was probably even more at the idea of leaving her son with him, but he said he would be there, so he was. He wouldn't let her down like this. He gave her a sheepish smile.

“You know I wouldn't put you in such an embarrassing situation, Miller.”

She gave him a look and he knew it came out wrong. Still, it was true so he didn't add anything.

“Well, I guess it wouldn't be appropriate to make you stay under my porch all day so please, come in.”

She gestured him to hurry in, a small smile floating on her lips. Alec followed her inside and she locked the door behind them. He felt a bit sad about it. Three years ago, she would have let the door open to anyone needing any help at all. Her friends would probably have just popped up inside saying hello and staying for tea, and she would have loved it. Now, her house was a fortress. He couldn't blame her to be that cautious. After all, he had been the first to tell her to stop trusting everyone. He wished he had been wrong. If Joe was smart enough – and Alec knew he was – he wouldn't come back to Broadchurch. However, Miller wouldn't risk him getting in, so she changed the locks and made sure to always close the doors behind her.

Alec blinked and focused back on her. She was wearing her casual suit and was looking at him with a cheeky smile and shiny eyes. She looked nice. They moved to the living room, where the little boy was playing with some toy cars on the carpet. Alec hoped he would be that calm all day.

“You remember Uncle Alec, sweetheart?”

Said Alec rolled his eyes. Ellie noticed and sighed.

“Don't make him call you Hardy, Hardy. He is four, you are Uncle Alec to him.”

“I wonder whose fault it is,” he answered.

Before she could reply, Fred got up and walked to them, the same big smile as her mother spreading on his face.

“Hello Uncle Alec!”

“Hello wee Fred," he said softly, giving him a small nod. “I'm taking care of you today.”

Alec ruffled the little boy's hair and Fred's grin grew bigger. The child flew his arms around the man's waist and hugged him tight. Surprised, Alec tensed a bit, before awkwardly patting his head. It was a nice feeling.

“Haven't been hugged in a long time, Hardy?” Ellie teased.

He gave her a look and grimaced, not wanting to tell her to shut up in front of the boy. His colleague's smile said it all and he coughed, embarrassed. Fred wasn't letting go, looking at Alec with pure adoration in his eyes and Ellie had to put her hand on his arm to catch his attention.

“Freddie, would you let Alec take his coat off?”

“No,” the boy answered with all the stubbornness of a four-year-old.

“Oh. And why so?” she asked.

“I missed Uncle Alec.” he said as a matter of fact.

Alec felt his heart grow three sizes and had to hold back a smile.

“I won't go anywhere, Fred. Promise,” he stated.

The kid hesitated for five solid seconds before stepping back so he could get rid of the said coat. Ellie stayed silent a moment while he was hanging it.

“I'm sorry you have to do this.”

“What do you mean? I told you it was no problem, Miller.”

“Yeah, I know, but I was surely looking really desperate the other day and when people feel pity they say 'yes' when they want to say 'no'. And you probably had plans with Daisy and--”

“No,” he said.

“No?”

“No, I didn't have plans for the week-end. Daisy stayed at Claire's house yesterday night and is only coming back tonight. They are in the same school, Daiz and her. I'm glad she's making friends around here, building things, you know. So I'm not gonna lock her up inside with me.”

Ellie nodded. Alec always tried so hard with Daisy and things where going pretty well now, so she understood he didn't want to mess it up.

“She asked me what I was doing today, actually,” he added.

“Oh, really?” she smirked. “Did you admit you were babysitting?”

“Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I?”

Ellie didn't answer. He looked genuinely surprised by her remark, like it wasn't something people would normally do.

“Nevermind,” she smiled. “What did she say?”

“That it was funny and she could hardly imagine me babysitting.”

“Well, she's not wrong. You barely look after yourself.”

“Who asked for help again?” he retort, starting to feel quite irritated.

“You have to admit that people would talk if they knew, you know...”

“Know what, Millah?”

“That you kinda have a real heart.” she smirked.

He huffed and looked away. Touché.

“Yeah. DI Hardy babysitting the youngest Miller during his _rare_ free time.” he grimaced.

“That's weird,” she conceded. “Sorry again.”

“Don't be.”

Daisy also said it was cute, that he cared about that kid. He didn't replied anything to that. He cared about Miller and therefore about her kid. Simple math. But it made him smile, that his daughter would find him cute somehow. He had been called a lot of names recently, but cute wasn't one of them.

Fred grabbed the DI's hand and started following him around as Miller explained to him where he could find anything he needed, what shows Fred liked to watch, at what time he ate and how to basically entertain him. Alec nodded every time she looked at him, not sure that he would remember everything, but quite confident that he would figure things out. He had been a toddler's dad once, after all. He could do it again for one day, couldn't he?

“He will probably take his nap around three. Or four,” added his friend.

“Probably?” repeated Alec, hoping it would turn into a 'certainly'.

“Yeah, he doesn't sleep much anymore. Always need to be active. Quite tiring some days.”

Alec breathed in and closed his eyes for a second. He had hoped for a quiet day in, not a four-year-old Stormaggedon high on sugar. Once he reassured her for the fifth time that he remembered everything – even if he did not – and that she could leave in peace, Ellie finally put her big orange coat and kissed her son on both cheeks, Fred making faces and hugging her back. She turned to Alec, nervous, and sighed, about to add something. But he knew better and cut her off:

“It's gonna be alright, Miller.”

“If you have any problem, you can call me at any time, my phone is always on. Tom won't be back before five.”

“I know,” he assured. “Everything will be fine.”

“Well, that's definitely what people say before everything goes _wrong_ , Hardy.”

He narrowed his eyes, slightly annoyed. She chuckled.

“I trust you, you know. But if anything happens to Fred, Hardy, _anything_ \--”

“You're gonna kick my ass,” he completed. “And you would be right to do so. But nothing is gonna happen to him, so stop worrying and focus on yourself for one day. I'll call you if I need anything.”

“You better.” she warned, a slight smile finding its way to her face.

Alec shrugged and opened the front door to let her get to her car.

“And don't phone and drive.” he added, a serious tone in his voice.

“Are you playing the concerned boss again?”

“Still awful?”

“Getting there. I'll text you when I arrive.”

He nodded and she waved at them before getting in the car. Alec waited for her to leave the yard and disappear to close the door behind him, turning to Fred.

“Alright wee mate, what do you want to do?”

Fred thought for a while before pointing to the living room.

“TV?”

“Sure.”

Alec smiled to himself. TV was great. TV was calm. It would give them a few moments to rest together before lunch. He put the Peppa Pig DVD in the player before sitting on the couch, the boy cuddling on his side, a dinosaur toy he grabbed on the floor resting on his knees. He could do it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it ! I don't know when the second chapter will be published since I'm a very slow writer and I'm very busy because of college and stuff ?? But it's almost finished !


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter is here ! Will Alec succeed in making Fred go through a full meal ?

After the eighth episode of Peppa Pig, Alec thought that if he had to hear that awful opening song one more time, he would definitely eat fish and chips to death. Fred was happily humming along, still cuddled against his chest. He noticed that his humming wasn't as light as it was before, as if something was in his mouth. He lazily lowered his sight on the boy, ready to tell him to stop chewing his dinosaur when he actually saw what _was_ in his mouth. The remote control. He was actually chewing the remote control. Alec paled and shrieked:

“Oh god, Fred, don't eat that!”

The little boy took it off his mouth with a 'pop' and looked at the adult, curious. When did it happen? Did Alec fell asleep for a second and the child took the opportunity to switch the dinosaur for the remote? He grabbed it and put it on the coffee table, looking back at Fred.

“You can't eat the remote,” Alec said, searching for a justification. “If you do--” _Your mum will kill me_ , he thought. “It won't work anymore and we won't be able to watch more TV. You don't want that, do you?”

The boy shook his head.

“How many episodes did we watch?” he asked.

“Some.”

Right. Helpful. Alec scratched his beard and sighed. The boy's stomach growled. Alec raised an eyebrow and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It was already past noon and it was definitely time for Fred to eat something. The kid's stomach made noises again and he giggled.

“Alright, time to eat, don't you think, wee mate?”

With the kid's noisy approbation, Alec got off the couch and took him to the kitchen, convincing him to sit on the chair – and _stay_ sit on it – while he was looking for food. Alec knew kids. He had one so he knew he had to keep them focus for them to stay calm. The memory of little Daisy being so difficult to please as an infant floated in his mind for a second, drawing a small smile on his face. He knew that to make the boy stay still, he had to include him in the conversation. He opened the fridge and hummed:

“Hm, I wonder what Mum made us for lunch! I'm sure it will be so good!”

“Mum's food is always good!” Fred squealed.

“Really? I will eat everything if it is!”

“No! It is my food!”

Alec flashed a smile at him as the young Miller crossed his arms and started pouting. He looked very much like his mother doing so. Alec picked a carrot ballot and showed him to the boy.

“Is that it?”

“No! It's in jars!” answered Fred.

“Oh,” Alec said, faking deception. “What jar? _That_ jar?”

He picked up a pickles jar. He thought that of course it would be in jars, because Ellie Miller was actually quite terrible at cooking but she didn't want to disappoint her son, even if Alec was pretty sure Fred would love everything his mom would make because she was the one making it.

“Ew no!” laughed the child, crouching his nose with disgust. “That's pickles!”

“Oh really? It doesn't look like pickles to me!”

“That's pickles! That's pickles! That's pickles!” sang the boy.

“A big lad like you don't eat pickles?”

“No, they hurt the tongue!” Fred stated, as a matter of fact.

Alec nodded, he was right.

“My mom used to say pickles turned children green, like Hulk.”

“Like Shrek?”

“Yeah, Shrek too.” Alec chuckled. “So,” he pursued. “No pickles?”

“No pickles.” answered Fred.

Alec put the jar back in the fridge and took two smaller ones out. Those were actually the baby food jars Ellie told him about. The air was getting cold and he closed the door of the fridge, wondering why she would still give her son that much baby food, considering he had turned four not so long ago. But Ellie said so, so Alec would give them to her kid. Freddie was silent, looking at the jars with suspicious eyes. He didn't seem very pleased with it and probably expected better after their little game. Alec looked at the little pots and opened them. They smelled like bad quality peas and potatoes. He put them on the counter and took two plates by reflex, two glasses and not sharp cutlery off the cupboard, placing them on the table. He knew he wouldn't eat anything but still, it was nice to set the table.

The DI took the jars and put them in Fred's plate, sitting in front of him, across the table.

“Look, mate, I know it doesn't look very exciting, but I'm sure it tastes good.” Fred grimaced. “Your mom really want you to eat that.”

“I don't wanna,” Fred said.

“Please?”

He pinched his lips a second, thinking about how Miller would probably laugh at him, begging a child to eat a jar of baby food. It seemed to work since Fred plunged his spoon in the can, before stopping his movement.

“What you eat, Uncle Alec?” he asked.

“I don't eat, Freddie.”

“Big people don't eat?!” the boy exclaimed, eyes wide.

“They do!” Alec corrected quickly. “ _I_ do. But I'm not hungry right now.”

“You are skinny. You must eat.”

“I'm really not hungry, Fred, but thank you.”

He thought that he couldn't possibly explain to the boy how difficult it still was for him to go through a full meal without wanting to throw everything into the bin, even if it went a bit better with time.

Fred said nothing for a while, staring at his mom's friend with narrowed eyes, probably judging if the grown-up was lying to him or not. He finally pushed the jar aside and said.

“If you're not hungry, I'm not hungry.”

Oh no. Alec immediately saw that the boy wouldn't change his mind. He had that stubborn look inherited from her mother and the DI knew he couldn't do anything against that. He sighed and tried anyway:

“Fred, I promise you I'll eat later, but _please_ you have to eat now.”

“No.”

“Listen, if you eat, you'll be big and strong and that's great, isn't it?”

“Is that why you're so skinny and grouchy, Uncle Alec?” Fred asked with wide eyes.

Alec raised his eyebrows, slightly offended. Coming from Miller, it was a normal come-back, but from a four-year-old, it quite hurt. He thought about it for a second. If a child was able to see he was not taking care of himself at all, maybe he should really do something about it. But he was _not_ hungry and he wouldn't tell a four-year-old boy that most days, the simple idea of eating was giving him so much nausea that he had to sit down for a minute. Alec ran his hands across his face and Fred repeated:

“You are big, but you are skinny. You must eat.”

“Thanks wee Fred, but I'm okay.”

Fred pushed a baby food jar in his direction and Alec glared a little. This boy wasn't the boss of him, was he? But he had this furious look and the man knew he wouldn't eat anything if he didn't make the first move.

“Right,” he said. “But if I take this one, you eat the other one, okay?”

“Okay.”

The DI grabbed a spoon and opened the lid. What was inside looked as miserable as it smelled, peas and carrots mixed resulting in a brown-greenish concoction. Alec gave the child sitting in front of him a long look. Fred nodded and Alec sighed, he asked for it, didn't he? He poured his spoon in the food, thinking that it was definitely the last time he was being nice to anyone in his life _ever_ , and that Miller owed him a big one for this.

Fred was looking at him with a mix of admiration and horror as Alec put the food in his mouth, chewing a little before swallowing hard. He tried an appreciative 'hum' but it didn't fool anyone. It was actually terrible. The taste – if it actually tasted anything – was so chemical he had to control himself not to spat it out right away. Freddie frowned and grimaced and Alec ate another bit. Then breathed out.

“Alright, nope, not forcing you to eat that,” he concluded.

“It's yikes.” Fred added.

“Very much so, yeah,” Alec agreed with a nod, hiding a smile. Ellie probably used that world around him instead of 'crap'. “Lets see if we can cook something better for you, little lad. Don't move.”

Fred squealed in happiness as Alec threw the jars in the bin. He walked to the fridge and opened it again, looking for whatever a kid Fred's age could eat and like. He took the ballot of carrots and spotted a pack of fifteen cocktail sausages and two rolls of pastry.

“We could make some sausage mummies, what do you think wee Fred?” Alec asked.

“Mummy?” The boy repeated without understanding.

“Well, dress the sausages as little mummies, with, uh, strips and--” He paused, noticing the big eyes of the kid. Daisy used to love when they did that at his age. “Ok, you know what, this was a stupid idea.”

“No! I want to do that!” Fred exclaimed. “This is funny!”

“Really?”

The boy nodded a few times with a smile and grabbed the sausage pack.

“We could make them hats with the carrots.”

“Mummies don't have hats!” The child objected.

“Oh, and how would you know that, young man?”

Alec mentally cursed. What was he doing exactly? Arguing with a four-year-old kid about hats on mummies? Really? His colleagues would probably be stunned by this, or horrified. Miller would smirk as usual. He decided he didn't care since he really wanted the boy to eat some vegetables, even if not much. Fred frowned and gave it a second thought.

“Right, hats!” He finally said.

“Would you help me cooking that?”

The smile the boy gave him was so bright and infectious that Alec had to smile back. That was a yes. He preheated the oven, ordering the child not to come close and unrolled the sheets of pastry on the table.

 

*****

 

“Wait, you're telling me _your_ dad is babysitting a toddler,” Claire said.

“Yeah, I know! Sounds surreal when you put it like that!” Daisy giggled.

Both girls where sitting cross-legged on Claire's bed when she asked why Daisy wasn't spending the weekend with her dad, since he finally had a weekend off.

“He was standing at my door, awkwardly shuffling on his feet and —”

“He is always awkward,” Claire noted.

“Yeah, right. But what I'm saying is that he was _so nervous_ about the whole thing like half panicking you know like I-think-I've-made-a-terrible-mistake panicking, you see?”

Claire laughed and nodded. She couldn't help imagining the grumpy and scary DI being completely dreaded by the simple idea of taking care of a child. Daisy continued, smiling:

“He wouldn't stop apologizing of not spending the weekend with me and I was like 'Dad, it's okay, I'm going to Claire's, remember?' and he was just so distraught.”

“That's kinda cute, maybe he thought you would help him out?”

“Nah, he would do anything Ellie asks him without complaining.”

“Really?” Claire asked. “Girl, he _would_ complain.”

Daisy chuckled.

“Yeah, you're right, he would. All. The. Way.”

She smiled softly. Things were slowly fitting together again with her dad and it felt great. She loved watching him come home after an exhausting day and light up seeing her. Of course, he would tell her he isn't _that_ happy and how 'teenagers are dreadful, let your old father get some rest', but she knew that it wasn't true and she remembered his smile when she told him she was staying in Broadchurch. It could have lit up the whole town during a hurricane.

In the beginning, their relationship was awfully awkward, they had to adjust to each other, three years or so had passed since he left and she wasn't sure she knew who the man who was standing in front of her was anymore. But he was still a social disaster, clumsy and somewhat cold, but he was trying to make things right and she could _feel_ how much he loved her even if he was terrible at expressing it. They weren't talking much but she wasn't complaining, because he was there, helping as much as he could, and it was enough.

Sometimes, Daisy would think about how difficult it must have been for him to leave and live without her, how terrible he would have felt when she told him she hated him and she never wanted to see him again. It was hard for her too, she felt betrayed. He was her superhero and he let her down. They both knew she had the right to feel that way and he never told her she was wrong about her feelings. 'You can't control how you feel' he told her when she was younger 'That's what so awful about being human. You just feel. It's not right or wrong, it's just there.' _And it fucking hurts_ , he probably thought. Because she did think that. A lot. A couple years later he had left because _he_ felt it was the right thing to do. And now that she had gathered all the pieces, she couldn't blame him for that. It was quite heroic, though. He just wanted the best for her, he always did. He promised to protect her from all the monsters life would send in her way, didn't he?

But then he was dying and she felt so scared and so useless. What if she never had the chance to talk to him again? What if he had died thinking she hated him? She didn't. Not back then, not ever. She was upset and scared he would vanish again if she came too close. She wasn't sure her heart could have handled that. And then, _his_ heart was failing him. What a sick joke it was. But not again, not ever. She was here now.

They rarely talked about it. He only told her it was okay, he understood how she felt and he was sorry; and Daisy realized how being adult was often making decision that weren't necessarily right or wrong but just were. What would happen next would just happen, and you would have to deal with it. He told her he loved her and she believed him. He told her he wanted to be a good dad and she decided to give him a chance. Because she loved him too and she wanted to be a better daughter too. They didn't talk about it very much, but they didn't have to. It was tacit. They came a long way round. God, they even had inside jokes now!

“Earth to Daisy Hardy, do you hear me?” Claire joked.

“What? Sorry, I wasn't listening.”

“Something running in your blood, though.”

Daisy smiled. People always told her she looked nothing like her dad. They were wrong. It turned out that they had quite similar personalities, or at least moods. It felt good to have something in common.

“What were you saying?” she asked.

“Do you think he is handling Fred or is it pure chaos?”

“To be honest? Must be the apocalypse.” Daisy answered with a nod and a playful smirk. “Wait, I could ask him!”

She grabbed her phone and quickly typed a short text before Claire lead the conversation to something else.

 

*****

 

While the sausages cooked a first time on the grill for a few minutes, Alec gave a little brush to Fred and cut a few strips in the pastry.

“Alright, so you paint the strip with a bit of eggs, not to much, just so it looks a bit shiny. You think you can do that wee lad?”

“Yes!!”

 Alec got the meat out of the oven and put it away to cool a bit. He sat on the chair next to Fred, cutting a few bits of pastry for himself and started to imitate the little boy, who was taking his job very seriously, guiding him when he was struggling. A few minutes later, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

  **Hey Dad! How is it going with my little monster Fred?**

 Said Fred grabbed his hand, shrieking on repeat “who this? Who this?”

“It's Daisy,” he replied.

“My Daisy?”

Alec's smiled softly and ruffled the boy's hair.

“Yeah, she misses you.”

Fred beamed and went back happily to his pastry. Hardy's response seemed to be enough for him. He typed his answer back.

  **None of us died yet, I don't know if it's a victory or not**

 The next message, followed by a few others, arrived only a few seconds later which amazed (and scared) him a bit. Kids were so reactive those days... But why the hell couldn't she put the whole message in one text? He checked on Fred who was still drowning his pastry in egg yolk, brows frowned and tongue pocking out with concentration. Alec looked back at his screen.

  **Wow, was that a joke, dad? I'm impressed**

**Tell me it's a joke and Fred isn't in any danger, please**

**Also don't say that to Ellie, she'll fret**

**Did he already drained all of your energy or can you still keep up?**

 Alec snorted. She knew him too well and it enchanted him. He liked the idea of her being aware of his habits, even the not so pleasant sides of his personality. It meant that she was a bit comfortable and interested in him, right?

“Uncle Alec!” Fred called. “I'm done!”

He grabbed a bit of pastry and agitated it under the man's nose, who sighed.

“Alright, mate, put that down. We don't want egg everywhere in mum's kitchen, right?”

Fred shook his head and obeyed to Alec's relief who wasn't really in the mood to clean up the whole room. He went back to the counter to check if the sausages were cold – they were – and put the plate on the table. He spent the next few minutes explaining to the boy how to roll the sausages in pastry to make a little mummy of it, rolling small balls of dough for the eyes. Fred nodded gravely and worked slowly, not wanting to disappoint. Alec's phone buzzed again.

  **Dad?**

**Everything alright? Do I have to call 999?**

**Dad.**

 Alec rolled his eyes and thought a second. Maybe she thought he could have a heart failure, right here out of tiredness. He hoped his pacemaker would do the job if it happened and mentally swore for worrying her again.

  **Everything is fine**

**I survived you, I can deal with anything**

 He went back to Fred who sighed loudly, looking at him in despair. It was taking way too long to make for his taste and he was hungry.

“Is it enough, Uncle Alec?”

“Just a few more, wee mate. Do you want to sit while I finish it?”

Alec has taken a bit of dough and was ready to continue. The boy refused furiously and pushed the adult's big hand with his little ones.

“No! I do it!”

“Alright, can I help you?”

Fred thought about it for a moment then nodded. Alec thought it was a great thing that kids could change their mind so easily.

Once they were done, Alec put them in the oven for twenty minutes, telling Freddie to patiently wait, which seemed to be quite impossible.

“Do you want to play while we are waiting, Freddie?”

“No, I'm hungry.”

“The food will be ready in a few minutes.”

Alec picked a few of the boy's toys anyway and Fred played with him without complaining.

His phone buzzed twice on the table. Daisy had answered. It was one of their longest conversation, by now.

  **R** **ude.**

**Also, two jokes in a row? Have to rectify, I'm very impressed!**

 Alec smirked and put his phone back down, seeing it was time to get the food out. He asked Fred not to come close.

“Because it's really hot, Freddie. I don't want you to get burnt.”

“No ouchie?”

“Nope, your mum wouldn't like it, would she?”

Fred shook his head and sit still.

They waited a few minutes for the sausages to cool down and Alec finally put a few in his plate and a bit more in Fred's one, putting the rest in the fridge.

 “Mum will be hungry when she comes back,” he said.

He took a picture of Fred and his plate and sent it to his daughter.

  **We made sausage mummies.**

 He felt a little hand grabbing his arm and looked up to see Fred frowning at him.

“What's wrong, wee lad?”

“No phone. It's me-time.”

“But it's Daisy, she's asking for you.”

“No. Me-time,” the kid repeated.

“You-time?”

“Yes.”

Hardy hold back a laugh and obeyed. Fred made all the conversation, chatting happily about his little friends at school and trying to explain him the whole plot of Peggy Pig. Alec nodded and hummed in approval at every right moment and the boy was delighted.

The screen of his phone lit up and after asking permission to the man of the house, Hardy was allowed to check it. It was another text from Daisy, eight big hearts which probably meant that Fred was very cute. Under it was another message.

  **Are you really using the same methods you used with me? Super cute.**

 Alec grinned.

  **Worked with you, didn't it?**

 She only answered with a big yellow happy smiley. Once they were done eating, the man put the plates in the sink, deciding he would wash them during Fred's nap. Then, he thought that he could send a text to Ellie, just to reassure her.

  **Everything ok with Ferdinand. He ate well.**

 The reply didn't take long to arrive.

  **Bloody hell, Hardy. It's F R E D.**

 He could almost picture her rolling her eyes on the other side of the phone. He was still holding his when he felt the vibration in his hand.

  **OMG, you are joking? Actually joking??**

 It was his turn to roll his eyes. Why was everyone so surprised? He was about to reply when another text came in. Couldn't they all stop doing that and let him time to answer?! He sighed heavily.

  **Are you having fun?**

 He gave a side look to Fred, who smiled brightly at him.

  **No.**

  _Surprisingly yes_ , he thought with a smirk. He followed the child in the living room and felt a bit tired. He could use a nap right now, but it was only 1 p.m. and Fred would _never_ sleep now. He tried anyway.

“Do you want to sleep a bit now, Fred?”

“No.”

It was a nice try.

“What do you want to do then?”

“Build a castle.”

Alec nodded.

“Nice plan.”

“And then, dinosaurs will attack the castle!” the boy excitedly added.

“Of course they will,” Alec approved with a smile.

Fred ran to the box with all his toys inside and started selecting the one that would be useful for castle building. Alec sit on the carpet next to him, cross-legged, giving a last look at his phone. Ellie.

  **That's because you don't know what 'fun' means, you grump.**

 He smiled and shut it down, completely focusing on the boy, who was asking him his opinion as 'first valet of the castle' and putting a bunch of cubes and dinosaurs in his hands. His Majesty Freddie didn't seem to complain about his lack of fun-related knowledge.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost did a "Hi hungry, I'm Alec" joke but I didn't... Hope you enjoyed reading this ! I got quite emotional with the Daisy part but I wanted to explore their relationship a bit !


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Fred are now having an artistic moment !

Fred was a wonderful boy, really. Full of joy and curiosity and imagination. And full of energy. Too much energy. He never ever stopped. At this point, Hardy thought that the only way for him to get some rest was for his heart to fail him. He wasn't complaining, no, he _did_ say 'yes' after all. And even if the boy always wanted to play, he was actually a delight and seemed to genuinely like him. Like _really_. Always smiling bright at him and squealing and giving him his favorite toys to play with.

He looked so much like his mother when he smiles it almost infuriated him. A mini-Miller, that's what he was. And it was too much for Alec to handle. Every time the boy would babble an “Uncle Alec” he could feel his heart get warmer. Precious, that's it. Fred Miller was precious, and tireless.

 _When did my life become this?_ Alec wondered one more time. Him, the feared Scottish DI who could break the most dangerous criminals by a single look was now sitting cross-legged on his colleague's carpet, building a castle in wooden cube and besieging it with big plastic dinosaurs. A strong debate was on between the man and the four-year-old boy to know which of the brachiosaur and the parasaurolophus was actually the best dinosaur. He knew it was the last one, but Fred gave him some fair points about the brachiosaur (his neck could be a very good ladder to get over the castle's wall after all) and it was his favorite, so the detective decided not to upset him.

He let the kid talk with all his amazement about the long-neck dinosaur, letting out some “aaah?” or “ooh!” once in a while to prove him he was still listening. He wasn't, but Fred was happy, and it was enough.

After an hour and a half, the castle was conquered and Fred still wasn't tired enough. Alec convinced him to put all of his toys back in the box and the boy obeyed, as his mother asked him to when she left in the morning. He stood in front of the box, lost in his thoughts, only his brachiosaur still in his hands.

“Something wrong, wee Fred?” Alec asked.

Fred looked at him and tilted his head. He walked to Alec who bend down to be at his height. The boy shoved the dinosaur in his hands and said:

“For you.”

“What? No, it's your dinosaur, Fred.”

“It's for you. It's a gift.”

Alec didn't move and didn't reply. No one ever made him gifts out of Tess and Daisy, moreover children. He didn't know exactly what to do. Should he keep it? What if Fred finally decided that he wanted his dinosaur back? He didn't want to cause a tantrum.

“I can't accept it, Fred, it's important to you.”

“It's a gift,” the boy repeated. “You keep gifts.”

“But-”

“This is my favorite dinosaur and you are my favorite Alec.”

He probably was his only Alec, the DI thought with a smile.

“Also, it could help to catch the bad guys.”

“Oh,” Alec chuckled. “Yes it will, I promise.”

The child grinned broadly.

“And it will protect Mum?”

“It will!”

“And you!”

“And me.” Alec nodded.

“Cross your heart?”

“And hope to die,” he answered, drawing a cross on his heart with his thumb.

Fred stayed silent a few seconds and put his hand on Hardy's heart, feeling the bump of his pacemaker under his shirt.

“I don't want you to die, Uncle Alec.”

Alec said nothing, taken aback. The mini-Miller looked at him right in the eyes and breathed out.

“You are important.”

“I'm not going anywhere, Fred.”

“Mum would be sad,” he continued. “I don't like when Mum is sad.”

Alec smiled softly and ruffled the boy's hair. Oh, it was a really tough burden to bear for a four-year-old child.

“I don't like it too.”

Fred nodded gravely. The detective figured out that it was the right moment to change the subject.

“Do you want to do some coloring, wee mate?”

Freddie smiled and nodded more enthusiastically. Hardy stood up and walked to the locker where Ellie stowed the art tools. He sat back on the carpet and gave a sheet of paper to the child and color pencils.

“Do you draw too?” Fred asked.

“Sure, why not?”

Alec took paper too and watched the child working on his drawing for a while. It didn't really look like anything alive or not, but Fred was taking his job very seriously and to his young eyes, it was probably a masterpiece. There were colors everywhere and Alec had to be careful he didn't draw on the carpet, or it would be the death of him. After long minutes of Fred scrabbling colorful tornadoes with intense concentration, the boy looked up at him and at his desperately blank page and said:

“You are not drawing, Uncle Alec.”

“I'm not very inspired, Freddie. What should I draw?”

Fred put his index finger on his lips and thought hard. His face lit up as he exclaimed:

“A dino!”

Alec nodded and pointed at the dinosaur Fred gave him that he had put aside.

“This dino?”

“Yes!”

The DI chuckled and picked a dark green pencil on the floor. He roughly drew the shape of a brachiosaur, to the delight of the young child who was cheering. It didn't look that bad and he had to admit he was quite proud of his work. He put the pencil down and was about to take a paler one to color it when Fred grabbed the drawing.

“I color it!”

“Alright, alright. Just try not to get out of the lines, ok Fred?”

Fred agreed and started coloring. He failed a bit but it was still very good for a four-year-old. While he was occupied, Alec doodled a few other animals for the boy to color later. His horse was miserable but he sketched a pretty decent fish, with details and all. He almost took a picture to send it to Ellie but stopped himself at the last moment. She wouldn't let him live it down if he ever showed any pride in some silly drawings for a small child, and for sure, the whole CID would know about it before Monday.

“Done!” Fred yelled, proudly shoving the drawing into his hands. “Do you like it?”

Alec looked closely at it. The coloring was a bit shaky and the sheet a bit torn but it was actually a good dinosaur.

“I love it,” he answered.

“You can keep it!”

“Oh, it's nice, Freddie, thank you very much.”

The boy smiled brightly and began another sketch, not noticing the drawings Alec made for him. He could color them later. He watched over the kid's doodle for a while. Very seriously, he had drawn five potato-shaped people, with sticks as limbs. Two were adult size, two a bit smaller and a little one. For a moment, he feared that the boy would have remembered his father, but three years after the events and him being only a year and a half when they happened, it was clearly impossible. Plus, the Millers were four, not five. Confused, he kept looking.

Fred added yellow hair to the smallest potato. _Probably him_ , Alec thought. He gave long blond hair to one of the middle-size one and dark and short ones to the other. One of the two adults had long brown hair and the second one had them short. _And the little lines must be a beard. Oh god, is it–_

“Fred, who are these people?”

“Uh?”

The boy had begun to chew his pencil. He grinned and starting pointing at different figures.

“This is me. And this is Mum and Tom. And this is my Daisy,” Alec felt his heart melt. “And this is you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You have a beard.”

The boy griped his real beard with his little hands.

“Yup,” the man approved. “And you will have one too, one day.”

“Ew no!” Fred grimaced. It is ugly!”

 _Oh nice_ , Alec thought, swallowing his pride. _You, little one, are gonna grow up exactly like your mother and it's gonna be so painful for me_. He scratched his beard. Maybe he could groom it a bit better next time, it would look less neglected.

“You think I'm ugly?”

“No. You are my Alec, so you are pretty.”

Alec felt his heart get warmer and swallowed hard to avoid getting soppy. _His_ Alec, like ' _my_ Daisy'.

“Jeez, why are you actually cute? I'm not supposed to like cute people,” he said, ruffling the boy's curls.

Fred shrugged and went back to coloring. Alec didn't move, not knowing exactly what to do while the child was occupied. He stayed there awkwardly, waiting. Finally, the boy finished his drawing and looked up at him.

“Look! It is done.”

“It is. It looks great, Freddie.”

“Really?”

Alec nodded. It didn't actually looked like anything, really, but he wasn't one to destroy his creativity. And it was Fred's family and he was in it, so it _was_ great. The Miller child giggled and noticed the bunch of sketches Hardy made for him. He grabbed the pack and beamed.

“Is it for me, Uncle Alec?”

“Yes, Fred. 'Made them for you,” he answered, nervous.

“Cool!”

He took a blue pen and started coloring the bee. Alec didn't have the heart to tell him he got it wrong. Instead, he gave a closer look to the drawing he made. Actually, for a four-year-old, it was well done. He even drew a yellow sun and a big green tree.

“You can keep it,” he heard Fred say.

“What? But it's your drawing.”

“I have a lot of drawings,” he replied. “And I can make another one. You keep it.”

He frowned to show him he didn't have a word in it.

“Thank you, wee Fred. I don't know how to pay you back.”

“You don't. It's a gift.”

Alec thought that the next time he would see the little boy, he would have an amazing present for him, what the others would say be damned.

“Thank you,” he repeated because he didn't know what else he could say.

“You are welcome,” Fred smiled.

Another few minutes passed with the two of them scribbling and filling white paper with bright colors. Fred was sometimes proudly showing his art to Hardy, who was answering with long exclamations of amazement.

“I don't want to draw anymore,” the kid stated a while later.

“Oh? Well, what do we do now?”

Fred thought for a moment, narrowing his eyes in concentration.

“Sleep?” Alec tried.

“No.”

_Ah._

“Hide-and-seek!” The boy shrieked, pushing away paper and pencils and running away. “You find me, Uncle Alec!”

Alec smirked, looking at the chaos around him. He put everything back on the table, the boy's drawing of them all in sight, so he wouldn't forget it later. He answered.

“Alright, Freddie, I'll count to fifty! Be ready!”

 


End file.
